before 900;Middle EnglishPharao,Old EnglishPharaon < Latinpharaō < Greekpharaṓ (stem pharaōn-) < Hebrewphārʿōh < Egyptianpr house + ʿʾ great; originally a designation for the palace, but used to refer to the king from the time of Akhenaton (14th cent. b.c.); -h restored from Hebrew